Pizza, Breadsticks, Law, and Alicia
by kqshipalot
Summary: AU (because Will shall never die). He was just a pizza delivery boy in a big city, dreaming of law school. She was a girl that ordered one night
1. Chapter 1

**Looks like Delivery boy!Will won (though some of you have dirty minds lol). I do have a confession though. I was halfway through writing this when I realized that I have a friend back home who not only looks like a young Will Gardner (Josh Charles), but also did pizza deliveries up until 2 months ago. I spent the rest of this chapter laughing so forgive me for any mistakes. **

** Disclaimer: I do not own TGW or the characters. If I did, Will and Alicia would have a happily-ever-after. I also took some creative writing liberties, in case it's later not obvious =) I do not know how the life of a delivery boy works, especially in NYC**

** In 2014, Will Gardner did not die in a courtroom. How could he, when he was 23 years old and working as a pizza delivery boy. . . (as per request of a guest, he only has one job)**

"You're late!"

Every employee heard those words at least once a month, especially on a weekend with heavy traffic in New York City.

Will Gardner was hearing those words for the first time that month, which wasn't anything to pat himself on the back for. It was August 2nd, and the heat outside was preferable to the one inside. If somebody wasn't making pizza, they were working in the front.

"Sorry Mr. Childs," he apologized to his boss. "Traffic."

"Well, you're going to be in it more tonight. We got several calls."

That was to be expected. Will had always worked on Friday and Saturday nights and they were the worst. Either there were teenagers or college students having parties, or there were parents who didn't want to cook that night. Once in a while, there would be a baby-sitter who was left money to get pizza for the kids.

Will's co-worker, Cary Agos, handed him a list. Will glanced down at it. "I think several might be an understatement."

"Better gear up," Mr. Childs went back to his office. "You're in for a busy night."

"No shit," he said under his breath.

"Have fun," Cary told him as he worked.

Will's shoulders slumped. It wasn't that he loved this job (even though he had met interesting people along the way), but it paid. His younger sister, Audra, had graduated High School and was going to college in the fall. His older sister, Sara, was working in Chicago and was doing moderately well for herself. Their mother had died when Will was still in Elementary School, and three months ago their father joined their mother. Their had been some inheritance, split between the three Gardner kids, but Will still had to make his own income. Fortunately, Audra had received enough of the inheritance to pay a full-year's worth of tuition, but there were still the next three years for Will to worry about.

Audra was working for the summer, saving up as much money as she could before starting at NYU. Will was proud of her. She had been irresponsible and wild at times, but she was growing up and learning to become independent. It had made his heart swell with pride when he and Sara saw their sister receive her High School Diploma, even though their father had died a month before.

He would do anything to support her.

Even when it meant putting aside his dream to go to Law School.

He had never thought of it, until a career class he had signed up for at the beginning of his college life brought in a guest speaker named Diane Lockhart. She had spoken to the entire class, telling them about her career as an attorney. There were 50 other students in that classroom. Some were on their phones or their computers, others were looking at her but not listening, and the rest were paying attention.

But she had inspired Will the most.

He had run up to her after class was over and asked her every question that came to his mind. Ms. Lockhart had laughed at his enthusiasm, answering every question he had, and then telling him to research the profession.

So he did.

It sounded like hard work, but as he kept reading about cases, he found himself more and more interested. He took one class in the legal field, decided he enjoyed it, and majored in it. He would often go see Diane at her office, and she became his mentor. He would go to court, when she was working, and watch her. He graduated with a near 4.0 GPA.

That was all last year. Then shit hit the fan.

Will chuckled to himself. He had wanted to work for a law firm, possibly even Diane's if he could, but instead he had been making pizza deliveries since late May.

How life could change in one year.

Will put on the hat for New York Pizza Suprema, and then put the work shirt over his own.

The beginning of August, in the middle of a smoky kitchen, wearing two shirts. Will was ready to get out of the kitchens and start work.

"This family really doesn't know New York City traffic very well," he said to Cary.

"Come again?" Cary kept his eyes on the pizza he was making.

"Look at the address," Cary didn't look. "Are they kidding me? This is going to take me at least half an hour to get to in this traffic."

"Start with them."

"They called two minutes after this other family though. The second one is closer," Will looked at the list. "This Cavanaugh family must be new in town if they think we're the closest pizza place."

He shook his head. At least the other driver, Kalinda, had taken the other list. Six was a lot in New York City, on a Saturday night.

Will delivered a box of Hawaiian pizza and a box of cheese pizza to a family named the Burdines. Their daughter took the pizza and held it like she was sneaking it in. And then he dropped off a single box of pepperoni to a woman named Lana Delaney. It was stop after stop, tip after tip, that night. Will made decent hourly money, but tips were always great to get.

His last, and final stop before heading back, was to the Cavanaughs. The family that didn't seem to know how New York City operated.

He rang the bell, waiting patiently in front of a modest home. He looked around as he was waiting. There was a silver Nissan parked on the driveway and behind it was the nicest Maserati Will had ever laid eyes on. Determined not to get caught lusting, he looked at the order in his hands. Three boxes of pepperoni, one cheese, and one vegetarian. Somebody was hungry tonight.

A guy around Will's age answered the door.

"Alicia!" He yelled. "Babe, the pizza's here!"

"I put the money on the table in the hall!" Will heard a girl's voice yell back.

"I don't think that includes the tip!"

Will fought back the urge to roll his eyes. The guy wore a suit that must have cost what Will made in a month, yet he was making his girlfriend pay for the pizza?

"I have that," a girl came into the hall, speaking in a soft tone.

Will's mouth nearly dropped to the ground. The girl had dark, wavy hair and dark eyes. She was wearing a dress one would wear to a formal fundraiser, but Will had no doubt she would still be one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen even if she was in sweats.

But of course she wasn't single.

"Hi," she smiled at him, putting on her earrings.

"Hi, I'm Will and I have your pizza," he quickly looked to the receipt and told her the price. Her boyfriend took the boxes as she handed Will the money, who gave her the change she needed.

"Thank you," she said, giving him one last smile, and his tip.

"Any time. Thank you," she closed the door gently. Will walked back to the car. A $15 tip. There had to be some mistake. Maybe she had mistaken the $10 for another $5.

Will was faced with an ethical dilemma. He should go back and tell her she made a mistake, but if she hadn't, he would look like an idiot. But it was better than getting future complaints that he was a thief who had taken too much money.

He went back and rang again. This time, the girl answered.

"I think you made a mistake. See, you gave me $15," he started to explain.

She laughed. It was a very nice laugh. "No, that's right. I meant to give you that."

"Oh," he stared down at the money in his hands. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Thank you Will, have a good night."

"You too," he said as she closed the door.

His mind went back to their conversation while the phone was ringing. Somebody had to yell his name when he drifted off. "WILL!"

He blinked a few times and looked to the source of the sound. Patti Nyholm held a paper in front of his face. "We got another one, get driving."

"Right," he muttered.

Making deliveries and getting tips was his life on Saturday nights. Will was sure it would pay off in the end, but for now all he wanted to do was go to law school. He had to remind himself that all of this was for his sister.

"I'm done," they closed at midnight, but Will didn't usually get back until after. That was New York City traffic. Mr. Childs stayed until all of his drivers were back, and Will was the last one that night. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Wait!" his boss called him back. "Don't forget to put how much you made in tips tonight. Tax purposes, remember?"

"Yeah, I forgot," Will took off the hat. "In the past, I worked for places that did that for me. All I had to do was fill out my tax form."

"Tips aren't included into your salary," was all Mr. Childs said as he closed up.

Will entered the amount of tips he had gotten that night ($66.50) and checked out. He was going to be doing the same thing on Monday afternoon.

He could only hope that Cavanaugh girl would call again on his shift. Her laugh was still replaying in his head, and it was one of the best laughs he had ever heard. He certainly wouldn't mind driving all the way over there again.

All he could do was hope.

** Don't worry, Peter won't be around too long lol. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It's short than I will typically have it, but I wasn't kidding when I said AU. =D**

** P.S 4 months later and I'm still not over it **


	2. 10 for Mr Florrick

** Awww guys! The follows and reviews made my heart all warm and fuzzy! I wasn't sure how anyone would like a younger Willicia AU. I needed something to help (because it's impossible to cure) the pain of losing our Will. DANICA- actually, Peter is the one with the Maserati and the expensive suits ;) **

** Btw, the cover photo isn't showing Alicia in it so I put a link at the end of the chapter. Anyway, onward to chapter 2! The beginning is based on these lyrics you all might know:**

** "Still in bed at 10, the work began at 8. You burned your breakfast so far, things are going great."**

** Rated T for some swearing (no F words though)**

_Beep beep beep._

Where did that come from? He was only dreaming of receiving pats on the back for being the most kick-ass lawyer in the courtroom. The annoying ring seemed completely irrelevant to what was going on.

_Beep beep beep. _

It wasn't in the dream. It was in real life.

Will, with his head buried in his pillow, stretched his arm out to find the source of the noise. He knocked over whatever he touched, and smiled contentedly into his pillow when the sound stopped.

It was two hours later when he awoke again.

He managed to lift his head up and looked at the ground. His clock was broken.

"So that's what that was," he muttered to himself, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. "Why did I set it in the first place?" His eyes flew open. "Oh, shit!"

Sara was going to kill him.

Technically, it was her fault for coming in on an early morning flight. Who wanted to fly that early anyway?

Sara was supposed to come in at 9:30 A.M into LaGuardia airport. If Will was thinking correctly, her flight was two hours long and Chicago was one hour behind. That meant her flight from Chicago had taken off at around 6:30.

His sister was crazy.

And it was already 10:00. Of course, just his luck, Audra started work at 7 in the morning on Mondays and couldn't bother to remind him about their sister, or call him to see if he was on his way to the airport. Speaking of...

Will jumped out of bed in a hurry and got dressed (taking a shirt out of his laundry bin because he hadn't done laundry in a while). He should not have bothered with breakfast, being late enough as he was, but he listened to his stomach instead of his head. Sara could wait an extra ten minutes. He would just tell her there was bad traffic.

He put a leftover pizza from work into the microwave and ate it in the car.

Of course New York City would have traffic on a Monday in the middle of the day. Will didn't know why he would expect anything less.

It didn't help that Sara started calling him right as he was cut off and nearly hit when another car entered the highway without yielding.

Will called her back when he was at passenger pick-up. "Could you just come outside so I don't have to park?" It wasn't that he was trying to be rude. It was just easier that way (and parking prices were ridiculous).

Sara, as expected, was not happy about it. She took one look at him and knew right away he had overslept and forgotten about her.

"That shirt was fetched out of your pile of dirty clothes, wasn't it?"

It didn't help him when he burned the breakfast he had offered to make her.

Going to work was the bright spot in his day. Typically, he and Kalinda would take two different sides of the city. Will would go to the West side and Kalinda would go to the East side. Sometimes, they switched.

Thankfully, there wasn't much on a Monday afternoon. There was only one person on the list for Will to drop pizza off to.

"Do you need a taste tester?" he peered over Cary's shoulder and took a pepperoni off a pizza.

"People are going to eat this, Will!"

"My hands are clean."

Cary was one of Will's favorite co-workers. He kept calm when others might not, but he was a sneaky bastard too.

"Burdine. I'm positive I just made a delivery to this house."

Cary looked at the address. "I know the Burdines! That's Robyn, she's a pizza addict."

Cary wasn't kidding. The Burdines (or just Robyn herself) had ordered two boxes of barbecue pizza with a side order of bread sticks. Will waited for the pizza to be done before taking it and delivering it. Robyn, the same girl who had answered the door on Saturday, took the boxes, paid in cash and told Will to keep the change.

Will stayed for his four-hour shift and went home to find Sara cleaning their apartment. Mr. Gardner had sold their house a year before he passed and the family had moved into an apartment. Once he passed, Will and Audra moved to a smaller and much more affordable apartment.

"Do you still play guitar?" his sister asked.

He took out one of his most prized possessions. "Yep."

Audra took out her guitar and practiced with him when she returned from work.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Will went to visit Diane at her firm. She was his mentor and his admiration for her grew with every visit he made. That didn't mean, of course, that they agreed on everything, but they respected each others thoughts and ideas.

On Thursday, he researched various law schools and made a note of the "top three" he would most like to apply to. And at night, he made deliveries.

Friday night, he arrived at work to find a list longer than his arm. One household, the Florricks, ordered enough to feed an entire army.

"What's all this?" he asked Mr. Childs.

"The Florrick family."

"I can see that's their name, but why are they ordering so much? Is it a party or a family of 20?"

"Mr. Florrick is the State's Attorney," Mr. Child's told Will. "I thought you would know who he was. They're having a party tonight."

Will should have known who Mr. Florrick was but he didn't. He should have cared more than he did, but all he was supposed to do was make a delivery. He didn't know why the State Attorney was ordering pizza for a party when he should be ordering something more fancy, but it wasn't Will's place to question.

Ten boxes later, Will was on his way and looking at the GPS to guide him to the house.

His jaw dropped open when he got there. _Damn_. This family was loaded.

He walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered, but he was hearing chatting. It was just not coming from inside.

Will walked to the backyard (which was the size of a neighborhood) and looked for anyone that might be a Florrick that ordered pizza. A few people glanced his way but didn't walk over. He finally approached someone at random. It was either that or stand around looking like a fool.

"Excuse me," he said to the stranger. "Do you know where I might find Mr. Florrick?" He motioned to the boxes in his hands.

The man pointed to an older woman (who was at least in her 50's). "That's his wife."

Will pursed his lips and walked over to Mrs. Florrick. She didn't look like the type you could ask for a warm hug from.

"Mrs. Florrick?"

The woman turned around and scanned him quickly. "Yes?"

"Your husband ordered this."

She scoffed. "I think you have the wrong house."

"I don't think I do," Will pulled out the list he was given and pointed to their name and address. "I do believe your husband ordered this."

"And why would my husband, the State's Attorney, order a dozen of-" she waved her hands at the boxes, "whatever those are in your hands."

Will did his best not to retort. This woman was feisty. "Pizza. And anyone could order pizza Mrs. Florrick. It doesn't matter what their profession is."

"Look around you," Will glanced. "These people are politicians, legal experts, and the most respectable people we know, here for my husbands speech on today's court system. Do you really believe my husband would order pizza for this type of event?"

Will was stumped. She had a point, but at the same time, pizza was given out at the Oscars. He didn't think that would make a very good case though.

"It's mine," said a voice behind Will, taking the boxes from Will. "Not all of them. Dad and I are going to have some after everyone leaves."

"Peter, why would you order so many?" Mrs. Florrick asked.

"Alicia liked the pizza from this place. We ordered last weekend and she wanted it again," Will's ears perked up at the name Alicia. Obviously, this guy was the Florrick's son if he was referring to the State Attorney as "Dad."

"Are any of these for the guests?" Mrs. Florrick asked her son.

"I'm sure some of it is," Peter answered.

"First he has his affair and now he wants to kill us all by heart attacks," Mrs. Florrick said impatiently. Will looked away, his eyes widening. He wasn't sure he was supposed to hear the first part of that. "Peter, pay the boy. Your father is speaking in five minutes."

"Here you go. Keep it," Peter gave Will a $100 dollar bill and went inside the house with the boxes.

"Jackie's a piece of work, isn't she?"

"Holy sh-!" Will jumped and turned around. He was extremely thankful he didn't have the pizza boxes still in his hands, because half of them would have opened on the ground. The girl raised her eyebrows at him, a small knowing smile on her lips.

He had only seen her once, but he knew who she was.

Cavanaugh. Alicia. Alicia Cavanaugh.

"She means well. I think," Alicia took a sip from the glass in her hands. "Sometimes I think she's struggling, but she keeps it to herself. I don't know. What I do know, is that she loves her son."

"Peter?"

"She wants me to marry him," Alicia looked Will in the eye.

"And you don't want to?"

"I can see us married, but I can't see us happy for long. I think we'd be working on making our marriage work more than we would on making each other happy, if that makes sense," she looked at him, open-mouthed. "I'm sorry. Here I am telling you things without first telling you my name. I'm Alicia Cavanaugh."

"Will Gardner," they shook hands.

"I should let you go then. I'm sure it's a busy night."

A lightbulb flashed in Will's mind. He had almost forgotten he was supposed to go pick up more addresses. "You're right, I should be heading back."

"Excuse me," Alicia tried to get the attention of a staff member serving hors d'oeuvres. "Excuse me!" the woman, who Will had no doubt had heard Alicia, kept walking. "I don't know what I ever did to her. She's been doing this all night."

"You can say bitch," Will told her.

Alicia looked at him and saw he was being serious. "I can't do that."

"Why not? It's true. If you want to say bitch, say bitch."

Alicia looked to where the woman was. "Bitch!" she said. It was quiet enough that nobody heard, but just barely loud enough for Will.

Will smiled. "See? She didn't hear it, but it makes you feel better," he looked at his watch. "I definitely need to head back."

"Probably best. Mr. Florrick is getting up," Alicia peered into the crowd. "Thank you again for the pizza. I was thinking you looked familiar when I saw you. Weren't you the one who came by my house on Saturday?"

Will was impressed she had remembered what he even looked like. "I was."

"You have a very distinct look. You look like you belong in the Dead Poet's Society."

That was a first. "Um, thank you?"

"It's not bad at all," she looked back to Mr. Florrick. "Who knows? If your pizza is always this good, I might call again."

Trying not to look too eager, Will only nodded. After saying good-bye, he headed back to his car to go back to work. The rest of the night was nowhere near as eventful, but Will spent the rest of it in a pleasant mood. Not even traffic made him irritated. On Saturday morning, he even remembered to wake up and take Sara back to the airport (part of the reason was because Audra was awake and at home), not even knowing what brought the high spirits.

Getting his check that night didn't hurt either. He wasn't going to be able to put it into the bank until Monday morning, but knowing it was there, and how much was on it, kept him smiling nearly the rest of the night (an obnoxious customer wiped the smile away in less than a minute).

Will's life was being kept busy, but it lacked something. He felt the rush, and irritation, each time he was stuck in city traffic. He had his two sisters, a job, and a mentor helping him get into law school.

What he lacked was true excitement. On many days, he had to drag his feet to go to work. He enjoyed seeing his co-workers, but there was nobody special in his life that wasn't family. Not that he was in any hurry. His last girlfriend, Tammy Linata, had moved to England for a full-time job. She had wanted him to come with her, but Will was not in a position to move all the way to England for a relationship he wasn't sure would work out in the long run. He almost did go. But when she called from the airport to ask if he had changed his mind, he gave her his final answer.

Will knew it would be worth saying no.

He just had to find a reason.

**Couldn't resist the Dead Poet's Society reference! =D**

** So, as you can see, Peter's dad is State's Attorney right now. And Jackie is still, well, Jackie. I'm still deciding on what Alicia should do. Nanny to a little Zach and Grace? Lol (I'd only mention them). Should she be studying law or something not-canon?**


	3. Red Red Wine

** Sorry guys. BUSY weekend for my cousin's wedding then flew back and took an exam right after landing.**

** RIP Robin Williams. I wanted a young Will fic after DPS and Robin was fantastic in that movie (so was everyone).**

** I love ALL the reviews. Danika- aah yes, speaking of red wine... and to Jule, basically the same here but with his mother's passing more recent. But Will and Alicia were going to bond over a beer bottle like in 1x05 (I believe that was the episode). Glad you all loved the bi*ch reference. I was hoping to do it justice. =D**

Will never found out if Mr. Florrick had intended on ordering 10 boxes of pizza. All he knew was that he was happy enough to see the name Cavanaugh two weeks later. His sister was heading to college for the first time soon and it was the only thing on his mind. That must have been the reason he was whistling on his way over to the Cavanaugh's house, despite the heat.

Alicia wasn't the one to answer the door, and it wasn't Peter Florrick. Will had no idea who the hell this guy was.

"She said you were coming," Will was still holding the box when the guy opened it and sniffed it. "Smells great. Maybe I'll have some."

"Not unless you pay me," Alicia came into view. "And we both know you won't."

He gave her a pouty look and walked away. "You need to take your eyes away from the books, Alicia! Lighten up!" he called over his shoulder.

"Sorry," she apologized to Will. "My brother would have taken it all otherwise."

"What are you studying?"

"Law."

"Me too," was all Will could say. "I mean, I'm trying," he needed to change the subject. "Here's the order. Have a good night," he gave her the boxes and started walking back to his car.

"You're forgetting something!" he turned around to see Alicia waving a few bills.

"Oh, right," he muttered under his breath. Now he looked like a bigger idiot walking back to her. "I should probably get that from you,"

"So you want to go into law school too?" she asked.

"Eventually. First I have to study, but I get distracted every time I study at home."

"You can study here."

Will chuckled to himself. "Yeah, really."

"I'm serious."

Will looked at her in the eyes for confirmation. She wasn't kidding. If she was, she was a very good actress.

"That's nice of you to offer but I don't know."

It took five minutes of arguing (if one could even call it such) for Will to agree to drop by, with Alicia promising to teach him the basics. He could see why she was studying law- she was very convincing, with just enough persuasiveness and subtlety.

Traffic was killer. Will, still unable to believe what he had just agreed to, banged his head onto the steering wheel, not even flinching when his head honked the horn for a good five seconds. At least it got the car in front of him moving.

He had promised Alicia that he would come by on Wednesday afternoon, when they both had free time (and when she said her brother would not be around to eavesdrop). Kalinda had to call his name three times before he even acknowledged her. She frowned but didn't say anything. With most people, Kalinda would seduce or flirt with them until she got what she wanted (it drove her crazy when she didn't know what she wanted to know) but she respected Will too much to ever do that to him. And he was too smart to fall for it. Others, like Cary, were not.

"Will," Patti came up to him as he was about to leave. "I want you to know I have had such a pleasure working with you."

Will furrowed his brow. When Patti was sweet, she typically had an ulterior motive to be that way. "Same here, Patti."

"But I will only be here for Christmas," she went on, as if she hadn't heard him. "Got to rest before the baby."

Now he was certainly confused. She'd had a baby in January and returned after her maternity leave. "What are you talking about?"

She looked surprised. "You must be the last one to know. I'm pregnant, and the baby is going to be born in February."

"You're pregnant?" Will asked in disbelief.

"I am," she saw the look on his face. "It happens."

"Are you thinking of populating a small island?" he lowered his voice. It was either that or the only way she could get paid without working was by going on maternity leave.

"Have a good night," she gave him one last (what he called) 'Patti smile' and left.

He shook his head after she was gone and cleaned up. He was getting a headache.

Wednesday came at a slower pace than Will expected. He spent Monday working and Tuesday doing laundry and cleaning the apartment (Will voluntarily cleaning up after himself was rare if somebody were to ask anyone from the Gardner family). By Wednesday, he was drained. The apartment was clean but he still smelled like cleaners. Going to the Cavanaughs had nothing to do with his decision to take a shower right before he left. At least, that's what Will would have said.

He shifted from one leg to the other while he waited for her to answer the door. It would only take him less than 15 seconds to run back to his car and leave. With all the customers he had encountered working as a pizza delivery boy, he had mastered that art quickly.

But no. She was there, looking perfectly normal in jean shorts and a red t-shirt. And dammit if red wasn't a good color on her.

"Just in time. Owen left half an hour ago," she left the door open for him as she walked down the hall.

"When is he getting back?" Will closed the front door and followed her.

"Hopefully not for a while. Have a seat," she motioned to the kitchen chair.

Will slid carefully into the seat and noticed the table for the first time. "Are these what I think they are?"

"All law books," she answered, taking something out of one of the kitchen cupboards. She turned around and put two glasses in front of Will. She picked up one glass. "Water?"

"Sure, thanks," he watched her pour water into his glass. "So how long have you been seeing Peter Florrick?"

"A year," she told him, picking up her own glass.

"He seems cool. And if I may say, better than his mother. Is she always like that?"

She set her empty glass down, shoulders slumped. She held up a finger. "Give me one second." Before Will could say anything, she leaned down to another cabinet and looked through it. She stood back up with a bottle of wine in her hand. Seeing the confused look on his face, she explained, "I'll need this if we're going to talk about Jackie."

"We don't have to," Will tried to say but she was already pouring some wine into her glass.

She set her glass done when it was empty. "All right. You can ask now."

"Wow," Will looked at the empty glass.

"Jackie does that to you," Alicia said, already pouring herself another.

Will took the glass away before she could drink it. "Maybe we can talk about Jackie another time, when you don't have to teach me about law?"

She pursed her lips, studying him. Then nodded.

"Good!" he said, a little too enthusiastically.

They spent the next 20 minutes studying before Will started thinking about other things. Like kicking ass and taking names in the courtroom. Alicia snapped her fingers in front of his face when she finally noticed.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"What I always do."

He told her almost everything. About how he would go often to visit Diane Lockhart and how she had been the reason he wanted to go to Law school, how impressed he was with her performances in the courtroom and how he wished to be the same as her one day. Alicia listened to everything that he said, taking it all in.

"How did you decide you wanted to do this?" he asked her.

"To be honest, I don't know," she answered. "I know it's not the way it's portrayed on TV, I know cases can drag for years, but that hasn't stopped me from pursuing it. I'm looking at going to Georgetown next fall. That's actually how Peter and I met, in class."

Will had thought he was the only one, but now everyone he was meeting seemed interested in entering the legal field. Kalinda had been the only one that he had known who wanted to be in something similar, but an investigator. Will knew she would be one someday, she knew all the tricks and ways to finding something.

Alicia's phone rang an hour later. Her brother was already coming back, so Will took that as his cue to leave.

"You'll have to tell me more about the Florricks, and how the father is as State Attorney," Will took his shoulder bag from the chair he had placed it on.

"You can read about him online," she walked him to the front door. He placed his hand on the doorknob before turning back to look at her.

"You've seen it though."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Then I guess you'll have to listen."

He opened the door. "I'm good at that," was all he said before he left.

On one side of the Cavanaugh's front door, Will Gardner was driving back to the city. On the other side of the door, Alicia Cavanaugh was biting her lip, trying to stop the smile that was threatening to spill. She could always keep a good game face in public, but inside the home, she couldn't be nearly as successful. Nor did she want to be.

The next time she ordered a box from Will's work, Owen could eat a few slices behind her back. He could eat the whole thing.

And she wouldn't even give a damn.

**You guys wanted them to study together, so there's the beginning of it. And for those asking where this story will lead to- imagine if Will and Alicia had had "good timing" a little earlier ;)**


	4. Luck Is (not) On My Side

**ARRGH once again my computer restarted itself and lost everything. It must be a once-a-year thing. Anyway, I hope my reviewers haven't gone anywhere. Happy New Year! Just a quick read before 2015. Have some cynical Will with an added mix of sass and sarcasm like we used to sometimes get in TGW.**

It must have been a dream.

The week passed, and then two weeks. There were never any orders from the Cavanaugh family or even the Florrick family.

September passed and then October (Halloween was an awful time at work). Will hardly noticed November until Sara came in for Thanksgiving. Then came December and it was _cold_.

It a freezing and snowy Saturday a week before Christmas and Will had time off of work. He had been putting off any Christmas shopping but he wouldn't have much time for it next week. The only problem was that he didn't know what his sisters wanted.

Will refused to drive into the city that day and took public transportation instead and then walk around. Ten minutes after, he duck inside a cafe and ordered a hot chocolate. He started to wonder if he preferred this to sitting in his apartment. That was his own fault- he'd only opted for a sweatshirt and beanie to keep him warm.

But anything was better than staying at work where lately everything was "COME ON GARDNER MOVE YOUR ASS!" It was also hot everywhere. His work put on the heat and it went everywhere. Extra heat in an already hot kitchen was a bi*ch in Will's opinion.

Someone ran into him the minute he stepped outside.

Will looked down. She only came to his waist.

"Sorry," she smiled shyly at him. Will noticed she was trying to race her older brother, while their mother dragged her feet behind them, carrying a dozen shopping bags. The woman looked exhausted.

"No problem," he smiled back at the little girl. Will was never sure what to do with little kids.

She walked past him. Will took a few steps before getting hit again, this time by somebody strong enough to knock him to the ground. The little girl's brother had not learned from his sister apparently.

Will stayed on the ground after the boy ran off.

What was his life?

If he wasn't cold before, he was now.

Here he was lying on the ground, knocked down by a child of all people. He had no idea what gifts to get for either of his sisters, he was freezing and now he was wet from the ground, and he was going to spend his whole Christmas break working. Will started laughing to himself.

He didn't know how long he spent walking, not even looking for anything in particular. After a long while, he needed to go inside again to warm up. He stopped in front of a crowded bookstore.

Audra had spent long hours reading novels that Will guessed were Romance novels. He didn't know, he never listened long enough to hear the plot. That was one area where he differed from his little sister. He hadn't taken school book reading as seriously as he should have. At least, not until his sophomore year of High School when he decided not to read or look at sparknotes (his usual habit had been skimming chapters and then depending on sparknotes to explain chapter summaries) and he saw the 5% grade on his test. Thankfully, the only one who knew of this was Audra. Heaven help him if Sara or his father had found out. After that day, Will made it a goal to study hard every day. It paid off after he kept to his goal.

"Thirty dollars for one book," a girl was muttering.

"It would have been worth it. You really wanted it," a boy replied.

"Peter, just because you want something, doesn't mean you always have to get it right away or at all. Money is not meant to be spent carelessly."

Will moved to the side as people came out of the bookstore. Two of the people were the ones who had been speaking. The girl was in a purple peacoat with a black hat covering her dark hair. She looked familiar.

Her eyes met with Will. Neither of them said anything.

Was that?...

He shook his head. He was just cold, just imagining things.

"Hi," a girl went up to him. Will read her tag- Isabel. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"No," he was being honest. Any other day, he would have said no just to avoid having someone follow him around the store as if he were a thief. "No, nothing."

"If you need anything, let me know. My name's Isabel," she gave him a look that he couldn't decipher. "Remember that."

"Thanks," Will gave her a weak smile and walked to the back.

Once in the Young Adult section, Will checked three things: the price, the last few pages, and the summary on the back. Will read one where it ended with one of the two "soulmates" dying. It made him smile. He was cynical during this time of year but it was something he had felt for years. Audra and Sara called him a Grinch.

"8.99," Will frowned and looked at the book again. It was a hardcover with a release date of 2010. Was this book total crap?

Will skimmed through. Not his cup of tea, but it seemed decent enough for Audra. And it was in good condition.

He went to the front. "I'll buy this," he told Isabel, who gave him a smile and walked him to the cash register. She might have made a pass at him but it went over his head.

Will walked home.

His life became uneventful after that. He went to work on Monday, after waking up cold in his bed. It was such a chore to wake up when all he wanted were some more blankets.

"Gardner!" all he heard was Mr. Childs when he first walked in.

"Hi, Mr. Childs," Will grumbled.

"You're late!"

Will glanced at the clock on the wall. "By two minutes," he protested.

"Get working, we've had a lot of people ordering in."

Will was sweating within five minutes. The cooks were cooking up a storm in the kitchen and the thermostat up front was set to 75 degrees. Will was sure he was going to die of a heatstroke and he would never make it to law school.

"Will!" Kalinda's voice broke him out of his trance. "Start driving."

He was never so happy to oblige to anything in his life.

"Where am I going?" he looked at the address. Kalinda was heading out the back door. "Um, Kalinda?"

She turned around. "What is it?"

"This is your side."

"And?"

"Why are you giving me your side?"

"I thought we could change it up."

"Change it up?"

"Yes."

Kalinda was never one to talk very much, but she was being rather vague today. The whole time Will had been working with her, she never once asked to switch with him.

"Kalinda, there's something you're not telling me."

"There's someone I would rather not see."

"This," Will looked at the paper. "Anthony Burton guy?"

"That's him."

They stared at each other in silence until Will shrugged it off. "All right."

Right before Kalinda walked out the door, Will called to her again. "Who do you have? Or who did I have?"

Kalinda looked at the paper. "Cav something," she replied.

Will stared after her. "Cav something?" he repeated, bewildered. He walked out of the door and climbed into the other car. "Cav. Cav, Cav" then it hit him. "Oh, come on!"

_Thanks a lot, Kalinda._

He almost forgave her when he reached the house that she was eager to dodge. Will could almost see what beef Kalinda had with this Anthony Burton. He gave off a vibe that Will didn't like very much, bur at least he tipped well. Will dropped another delivery at a house before going back to the restaurant.

When Kalinda came back and started talked about "the Cavanaugh girl," Will started thinking about how he had been after he had met her. There was something about her that captured his attention but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Of course, that laugh of her would make any guy smitten...

"COME ON GARDNER, MOVE YOUR ASS!"

Will sighed. That had to come at some point in the day.

Will walked back into his apartment after his shift, rubbing his hands together. His apartment didn't feel as warm as he had hoped.

What was the damn temperature anyway?

Will looked at the thermostat. 61 degrees.

He turned on the heater and went into his kitchen to make himself a drink. Will got suspicious when he didn't hear anything. After making himself a grilled cheese sandwich and still feeling cold, he grew worried. Checking the vent, he groaned. His suspicions were confirmed.

His heat wasn't working.

This was was going to turn him into a grinch this Christmas.

**Do you remember that "girlfriend" of Will's we all hated in season 5? She wasn't even his girlfriend, more like a friend with benefit. Her name was Isabel if I'm not mistaken. And yes, that was Alicia who Will almost walked into =)**

**Sorry for any mistakes. Let me know what you think!**


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